Standard Of Review: Despite Being Created By A Judge, 'Silicon Valley' Tackles Arbitration

Silicon Valley’s depiction of an arbitration proceeding is hilariously casual, according to culture columnist Harry Graff.

Non-legal television shows often attempt to delve into the legal world for a single episode or multi-episode arc. These shows (some of which I have written about already, such as Game of Thrones or Inside Amy Schumer) almost always include a trial scene set in a real courtroom. This is not surprising; courtrooms are easy mechanisms for television writers to ratchet up drama. But I don’t think I have ever seen a television show attempt to tackle arbitration, until the June 7 episode of HBO’s excellent comedy Silicon Valley.  Of course, I am likely forgetting another instance of arbitration on television, so I have no doubt that some reader out there will not hesitate to tell me what an idiot I am (if not for this, then for not liking Suits). This column will contain spoilers for the entire second season of Silicon Valley, including the season finale that aired this past Sunday, June 14.

The arbitration episode of Silicon Valley is entitled “Binding Arbitration” and acts as the climax of the season-long dispute between startup Pied Piper and behemoth tech company Hooli. For those of you who do not watch Silicon Valley (what else are you watching after Game of Thrones on Sunday nights when playoff basketball is not on? CSI?), the show’s fictional company Pied Piper compresses data and was founded by the show’s main character Richard Hendricks (Thomas Middleditch). When the series began, Richard was employed at Hooli, the Google-esque company run by CEO Gavin Belson (Matt Ross). However, Richard was creating his compression algorithm on the side, while living at a startup incubator run by Erlich Bachman (T.J. Miller). After Richard’s algorithm attains success, Hooli sues Pied Piper for copyright infringement, alleging that Richard does not own the copyright to the algorithm because Richard created it within the scope of his employment at Hooli and with the help of fellow Hooli employees. After Richard discovers some information about Hooli that Gavin doesn’t want leaked to the press, Gavin agrees that the Pied Piper-Hooli dispute will be decided quickly via arbitration instead of publicly in court (Pied Piper prefers arbitration because the fledgling company is bereft of funds and cannot withstand a long-term litigation).

Pied Piper and Hooli agree that the arbitration will be held in a matter of weeks (which is the fastest complex litigation in history; if all my cases moved that quickly, I would be so busy doing trial prep that I would never have time to watch Silicon Valley, let alone write for Above the Law). Accordingly, Pied Piper needs to hire a lawyer quickly and on the cheap. They settle on Pete Monahan (Matt McCoy), who used to be a well-regarded attorney, but has been disbarred due to an amusingly long rap sheet. Pete asserts that while he is not allowed to practice law (and repeatedly reminds everyone that he is not officially an attorney), he is allowed to represent Pied Piper in arbitration (I am not an expert in California professional responsibility law (or anything else besides making Mighty Ducks references in my Daredevil reviews), but this seems incorrect based on literally five minutes of Googling).

It quickly becomes apparent that the case will turn on whether Richard ever used a Hooli computer while developing the compression algorithm. Unfortunately, the Pied Piper team locates a document indicating that Richard’s laptop was being serviced for a three-day period during which Richard ran some tests on the algorithm. This refreshes Richard’s memory that he once actually worked on the algorithm while at Hooli. Depressed, Richard and Pete head into the arbitration hoping that Hooli’s team of high-priced lawyers won’t discover this information.

Silicon Valley’s depiction of the arbitration proceeding is hilariously casual. The attorneys (or in Pete’s case, the former attorney) do not give any opening statements, and despite this being an extremely high-stakes case, there is only one arbitrator. The show provides little to no information about this arbitrator, but during the hearing he seems woefully unqualified for this job. For example, he nods his head in approval at the tortured argument proffered by Hooli’s lawyers that Richard’s hapless friend (and Hooli employee) Big Head (Josh Brener) must have co-created Hooli despite Big Head’s testimony to the contrary because Big Head is so “modest” that the truth is the opposite of whatever he says. However, the arbitrator eventually proves to be smarter than he looks; after Richard admits on the witness stand that he used a Hooli computer during the creation of the algorithm, the arbitrator nevertheless voids the entire employment agreement between Richard and Hooli (and accordingly rules in Richard’s favor) due to an illegal clause in the contract that violates Richard’s freedom of employment (though there is no discussion of whether the contract contains a severability clause).

One of the things that is so great about Silicon Valley is that it is unique from other sitcoms. While I may quibble with the realism of certain elements of the Pied Piper-Hooli arbitration that have been exaggerated for comedic effect, I applaud the fact that series creator and showrunner Mike Judge included an arbitration in the first place. Most showrunners would make every legal dispute settled in a courtroom, in front of a judge and a jury (maybe Judge wanted to be the only “Judge” associated with Silicon Valley). Judge aptly realizes that most disputes are not settled that way (and Judge also knows that most cases don’t get to trial in the first place, as Erlich notes that all of his previous cases have settled out of court).

Moreover, I recently heard Judge on Chris Hardwick’s Nerdist podcast (you may not realize it from Talking Dead, but Hardwick is a great interviewer), and Judge lamented the difficulty of writing a show like Silicon Valley in which the characters occasionally have to explain complicated concept for the audience that they would never have to explain to a fellow programmer or engineer. But (in previewing this episode) Judge mentioned that he enjoys writing legal scenes, because a lawyer’s job is to explain things as simply as possible. Judge might be oversimplifying a lawyer’s job just a tad, but “Binding Arbitration” was able to take a concept that could be difficult for a lay viewer (i.e., not a lawyer or tech person) to understand and make it easy to digest.

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Earlier: Suits Doesn’t Suit Me


Harry Graff is a litigation associate at a firm, but he spends days wishing that he was writing about film, television, literature, and pop culture instead of writing briefs. If there is a law-related movie, television show, book, or any other form of media that you would like Harry Graff to discuss, he can be reached at harrygraff19@gmail.com. Be sure to follow Harry Graff on Twitter at @harrygraff19.

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